The Samuel H. Scripps American Dance Festival Award for Lifetime Achievement in Choreography is presented each year at the American Dance Festival in Durham, North Carolina. The award and its cash prize, currently $50,000, is given to modern dance choreographers in order to recognize their influence on the art form.
1981 to 1990
- Martha Graham, presented by Betty Ford (1981)
- Merce Cunningham, Joan Mondale (1982)
- Paul Taylor, presented by Terry Sanford (1983)
- Hanya Holm, presented by Alfred Drake (1984)
- Alwin Nikolais, presented by Bessie Schonberg (1985)
- Katherine Dunham, presented by John Houseman (1986)
- Alvin Ailey, presented by Harry Belafonte (1987)
- Erick Hawkins, presented by Roger Stevens (1988)
- In memory of Doris Humphrey, Charles Weidman, and José Limón; remembrances given by Martha Hill, Lucas Hoving, Betty Jones, Pauline Koner, Ernestine Stodelle, and Janet Towner (1989)
- Twyla Tharp, presented by Charles Reinhart (1990)
1991 to 2000
2001 to 2010
2011 to 2020
2021 to present
References